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QUESTION
My pregnancy test was positive and I am very happy about my first pregnancy. Yesterday I had pinkish vaginal discharge and I am very much worried about miscarriage. My doctor said it could be just implantation bleeding. What is implantation bleeding?
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ANSWER from experts
Women health is pretty complicated especially during pregnancy. Any redish vaginal discharge during pregnancy could be very stressful and women should know more about normal pregnancy development.
Sometimes pregnant women could have so called "implantation bleeding" which is just a vaginal discharge - it usually contains a small amount of pinkish or brownish blood. Not all pregnant women experience implantation bleeding. According to statistics only 1/3 pregnant women could have implantation bleeding.
Implantation is a normal process - it is happening after fertilization. The egg becomes fertilized with a sperm within 12 hours after ovulation - usually in the fallopian tube. Fertilized egg then travels down the fallopian tube, increasing its size along the way. In the fallopian tube it becomes so called "zygote" and doubles to two cells, four cells, then eight cells and becomes the "morula." When the morula enters the uterine cavity it's called a "blastocyst."
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For normal pregnancy development the fertilized egg ussually implants into the uterine lining - this is the time when women could have so called "implantation bleeding". In average the implantation is happening between 6 to 12 days sfter ovulation (on average about 9 days after ovulation). As the lining uterus is made up of blood, there can be a bit of blood expelled in some women.
It is important to know that the normal regular period usually starts about 14 days after ovulation, so if you know when you ovulated and you experience some spotting, less than your period, about a week after ovulation, then it could be implantation bleeding. Sometimes the implantation bleeding is usually spotting; it's scanty, pinkish and not red and heavy like a period. Usually it lasts 1-2 days.
Implantation bleeding is something that many women assume that they will experience, but many doctors believe that it is the exception not the rule. So the conclusion is- if you are pregnant, better don’t expect the implantation bleeding; and if you had implantation bleeding – don’t worry, you do not need to be alarmed if you do experience it.
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